Manually operated printing machine



Oct. 29, 1968 M. R. JOHNSTON 3,407,725

' MANUALLY OPERATED PRINTING MACHINE Filed Opt. 22, 1965 FIG: 1-

lNl/E/VTOR MERLE F2. Jouusr u 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Oct. 29; 1968 R. JOHNSTON 3,407,725 a MANUALLY OIPERATED PRINTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 22, 1965 mvE/vm)? Oct. 29, 1968 M. R. JOHNSTON Filed Oct. 22, 1965 /a I, 3 42 40 /6 l 4 Shets-Sheec 5 INVENTOR MERLE R. Jouus-rou 8) Oct. 29, 1968 M. R JOHNSTON MANUALLY OPERATED PRINTING MACHINE 4 Sheets-$heet 4 Filed Oct. 22, 1965 L F/aa sw j i United States Patent 3,467,725 MANUALLY UPERATED PRINTING MACHINE Merle R. Johnston, East 'ltaunton, Mass, assignor to Eiiiott Business Machines Inc Randolph Township, Masa, a corporation of Delaware Fiied 0st. 22, 11965, Ser. No. 591,849 9 (Iiaims. (til. tilt-123) ABSTRACT 0F THE DESQLUSURE A manually operated printing machine of the type in which a print roll is made to traverse a stencil in order to transfer ink from the roll through the stencil to a workpiece, the machine including a base having a support for the workpiece, an operator lever mounted for movement relative to the base, a track for holding a stencil against the workpiece supported on the base, and a bracket mounted upon the base for movement toward and away from the base in response to movement of the operator lever. Links are pivotally mounted upon the racket for movement relative thereto between a first position and a second position in response to the movement of the bracket and carry a print roll capable of being urged against the stencil to press the stencil against the workpiece and movable across the stencil in response to movement of the links from the first position to the second position. Springs provided for biasing the links toward the first position with a force precluding pivotal movement of the links and traverse of the print roll across the stencil until the print roll is urged against the stencil and the stencil is pressed against the workpiece with a predetermined force, the links making an angle with the stencil when at the first position such that the force exerted by the bracket upon the links is transmitted by the links to the print roll and resolved into a first component for urging the print roll against the stencil and pressing the stencil against the workpiece and a second component for effecting traverse of the print roll across the stencil, the magnitude of the angle being such that the magnitude of the first component will reach the required predetermined force when the magnitude of the second component reaches the force necessary to overcome the biasing force and effect the traverse whereby the force exerted by the bracket is maintained at a minimum.

The present invention relates generally to printing machines and pertains more specifically to printing machines which operate by the transfer of ink to the surface of a workpiece through print-forming elements, such as stencils. In particular, the invention is concerned with manually operated stencil printing machines which are known as addressing machines.

A variety of addressing machines are commercially available for use in sequentially addressing a series of envelopes, cards, documents or other items. The convenience provided by such machines has established an increased demand for generally smaller, less expensive manual machines which are practical for use in various oflices where the volume of work does no warrant the expense of larger, more expensive machines.

It is therefore an important object of the invention to provide a practical manually operated addressing machine of the type wherein a printing means, such as a print roll, is made to traverse a print-forming element, such as a stencil, in order to transfer ink from the printing means through the element to the surface of a workpiece.

Another object of the invention is to provide a manually operated addressing machine of the type described wherein the manual force required to operate the machine is held to a minimum.

3,407,725 Patented Oct. 29, 1968 Still another object of the invention is to provide a manually operated addressing machine of relatively compact size and having relatively few component parts of generally simple configuration and construction.

A further object of the invention is to provide a manually operated addressing machine of the type described which is capable of accommodating workpieces of varying thicknesses without the need for separate adjustments.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a manually operated addressing machine of the type described which will afiord improved ink distribution, greater versatility, enhanced flexibility of operation and improved efficiency and reliability.

The invention may be described briefly as a manually operated printing machine of the type in which a printing means is made to traverse a print-forming element in order to transfer ink from the printing means through the element to a workpiece, the machine including a base having means for supporting the workpiece, operator means mounted for movement relative to the base, means for holding a print-forming element against the workpiece supported on the base, and bracket means mounted upon the base for movement toward and away from the base in response to movement of the operator means. Link means are pivotally mounted upon the bracket means for movement relative thereto between a first position and a second position in response to the movement of the bracket means and carry printing means capable of being urged against the print-forming element to press the element against the workpiece and movable across the print-forming element in response to movement of the link means from the first position to the second position. Means are provided for biasing the link means toward the first position with a force precluding pivotal movement of the link means and traverse of the printing means across the print-forming element until the printing means is urged against the print-forming element and the element pressed against the workpiece with a predetermined force, the link means making an angle with the printforming element when at the first position such that the force exerted by the bracket means upon the link means is transmitted by the link means to the printing means and resolved into a first component for urging the printing means against the print-forming element and pressing the print-forming element against the workpiece and a second component for efiecting traverse of the printing means across the print-forming element, the magnitude of the angle being such that the magnitude of the first component will reach the required predetermined force when the magnitude of the second component reaches the force necessary to overcome the biasing force and effect the traverse whereby the force exerted by the bracket means is maintained at a minimum.

The invention will be more fully understood and further objects and advantages thereof will become apparent in the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a manually operated addressing machine constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the machine of FIG- URE 1 with portions removed to show the internal construction;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the machine with portions sectioned to illustrate details of construction;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4! of FIGURE 2;

FIGURES 5, 6 and 7 are fragmentary side elevational views of a portion of the machine illustrating the operation of the printing mechanism of the machine.

Referring now to the drawing, a manually operated addressing machine is designated generally at iii in FIG- URES 1, 2 and 3 and is shown to have a generally hori- Zontal base 12 with depending feet 14 which enable machine to be placed upon a table top or another stand for convenience of installation and use. A horizontally extending platen 16 is provided at the top surface of the base 12 for receiving any one of a variety of workpieces, such as envelopes, cards, documents or other items, which must be addressed. Located above the platen l6 and spaced vertically therefrom, is a track assembly 13 which is mounted for movement toward and away from the base in response to the movement of operator means, illustrated in the form of a print lever assembly 2d which includes an operator handle 22, in a manner which will be described hereinafter. The track assembly 18 carries first and second hoppers 24, and 26, respectively. A stack of print-forming elements shown in the form of stencils 28 is located in the first, or feeding hopper 24 such that lowermost stencil may be withdrawn from the stack and carried along the track assembly by a pusher assembly 30 to a printing station at 32 for a printing operation and then beyond the printing station to the second, or receiving hopper 26. The pusher assembly is operated manually by pushing finger 34 to the left or to the right, as viewed in FIGURE 1, to advance or retract the pusher assembly along the track assembly in a manner now known in the art. A printing mechanism 36 is also located above the platen at the printing station and is movable toward and away from the base, along with the track assembly, in response to the movement of the print lever assembly 20. Thus, in the illustrated addressing machine 10, each of the stencils 28 carries an address and when a stencil is positioned at the printing station and a workpiece 38 (see FIGURE 3) is properly located on the platen, a downward push on handle 22 will actuate the print lever assembly, the track assembly will be brought downwardly against the workpiece 33 and the printing mechanism will print the address upon the workpiece. A stop-plate 40 provides a convenient shoulder 42 against which the workpiece is placed for proper location at the printing station, the location of shoulder 42 being selectively adjustable forward or rearward by movement of lever 44.

As best seen in FIGURES 2 and 3, the print lever assembly 20 includes an operator handle 22 fixed at one end thereof, which handle interconnects a pair of operator or print levers 46. Adjacent the other end of the print lever assembly, cam rollers 48 are journaled for rotation on a pin 50 which is fixed between a pair of relatively short arms 52 which are a part of the print levers 46, the cam rollers 48 resting upon the base 12 to provide a fulcrum for the print lever assembly. The printing mechanism as is carried at the forward end of a fulcrum bracket 54 which is pivotally mounted intermediate the ends thereof by means of another pin 56 fixed between a pair of pivot brackets 58 which are anchored to the base 12 by threaded fastener oil so that the printing mechanism is movable toward and away from the platen by rotation of the fulcrum bracket 54 about the pivot provided by pin 56. Such rotation is effected by downward and upward movement, respectively, of the handle 22 by virtue of still another pin 62 which is fixed between the print levers 46 at a point located a relatively short distance away from the cam rollers 48 and which passes through the fulcrum bracket 54 adjacent the rearward end thereof. A pair of return springs 64 (see also FIGURE 5) extend between pin 62 and the base 12 to bias the operator handle 22 and the printing mechanism 36 upwardly, away from the platen 16, as seen in FIGURE 3.

Turning now to FIGURES 4 through 7, the printing mechanism is seen to comprise printing means in the form of a print roll 66 journaled upon a shaft 68 fixed between a pair of pressure links 7th which are, in turn,

s pivotally mounteadjacent the forward end of the fulcrum bracket at '52. Shaft is provided at each end thereof with a notch 74 (see FIGURE 4), each of which cooperatively engages a frame 76 used to the track assembly 13, thereby coupling the pivoted fulcrum bracket 54 with the track assembly 18, maintaining the print roll (r6 against the track assembly and confining the movement of the shaft as, the print roll 66 and the pressure links 7% between a first position located toward the rear of the track assembly (see FIGURE 6) and a second position located toward the front of the track assembly (see FIGURE 7). A pair of pressure springs 73 extend between each leg of the fulcrum bracket 54 at F-tl and each pressure link at to bias the pressure links against the stops 84 on the fulcrum bracket, which stops positively define the first position of the pressure links and of the print roll 6-5. The track assembly 18 is also mounted for pivotal movement with respect to the base 12 by virtue of pivot arms (see also FIGURE 2 which are hinged to the pin 56 that passes between pivot brackets 58.

Thus, upon the application of a downward force upon handle 22, th handle will move downwardly and the print lever bly 26 will be pivoted about the fulcrum provided by cam rollers 48 which will begin travelling toward the rear of the base until, as seen in FIGURE 6, pin 62 is raised and fulcrum bracket 54 is pivoted about the pin 56 to lower th track assembly 18-, and the associated print roll es, against the workpiece 38 lying on the platen Continued downward movement of the operating handle 22 will further raise pin 62, as seen in FIGURE 7, forcing the fulcrum bracket to rotate even further so that pressure links 7% are driven away from steps 84, against the biasing force of pressure springs 78, and print roll 66 travels forward along the track assem bly from the first position to the second position to traverse the stencil which is held in the track assembly and now lies the workpiece. The traverse of the print roll thus prints an address upon the surface of the workpiece whereupon the handle is released, the print lever assembly, fulcrum bracket, track assembly and print roll raised by return springs as, and the workpiece removed from the machine.

During the above described traverse, the print roll 66 applies ink to the workpiece through the stencil 23 located at the printing station. The print roll itself is inked by contact with inking roll 86 which is also journaled between the pressure links '76 by virtue of shaft 88 and is urged into rolling contact with the print roll by springs 89. The inking roll 36 is fabricated of an absorbent material, such as felt, so that it will carry sufiicierit ink to assure that the print roll is adequately inked during successive operations of the machine it) during an addressing run. In order to provide even spreading of the ink upon the surface of the print roll as well as automatic inking of print roll 66 for each addressing operation, means are provided for positively rotating inking roll 86 during the return movement of the pressure links from the second position to the first position after an addressing operation and return of the operator handle to the starting position so that the print roll is evenly inked and ready for a subsequent addressing operation. These means include a ratchet wheel 9@ fixed at one end of the inking roll mounting shaft 88 and a ratchet rack 92 pivotally mounted at 94 to a ratchet bracket 96 fixed to the base 12 by the threaded fasteners 60, the ratchet rack 92 being resiliently biased against the ratchet wheel by a spring 93. The ratchet teeth are arranged so that upon traverse of the print roll from the rear toward the front of the track assembly, relative motion between the ratchet wheel and the ratchet rack is permitted without rotation of the wheel. However, upon release of operator handle 22 and return of the pressure links "iii to the first position against stops 84, the ratchet teeth will mesh and inking roll 36 will rotate and, in turn, rotate print roll 66 to evenly distribute ink upon the surface of the print roll.

The inking roll 86 is itself inked manually from time to time by the use of an ink supply assembly which includes a cylindrical ink reservoir I journaled upon an ink reservoir bracket 102 pivotally mounted upon the fulcrum bracket 54 at '72 and biased upwardly by spring 104 to ordinarily maintain the ink reservoir out of contact with inking roll 86. As required, ink is passed from the reservoir to the inking roll by manually pivoting bracket 102 downwardly to bring reservoir Iii!) into contact with the inking roll 86 and then rotating the inking roll by turning knob 108 (see FIGURES 2 and 4), thereby causing rotation of the reservoir and allowing ink to pass through perforations 110 provided in the reservoir and become absorbed by the material of the inking roll. Perforations 11b are normally kept at an uppermost orientation to prevent ink from spilling out of the reservoir except as desired when the reservoir is in contact with the inking roll.

The entire printing mechanism is protectively encased by a cover 12% (see FIGURE 3) which is hinged to the rear of the base at 122 so that the cover may be lifted for ready access to the ink supply assembly.

Effective operation of machine 10 requires that the track assembly be pressed against the workpiece with a force which will adequately clamp the workpiece in place upon the platen to preclude movement of the workpiece during traverse of the print roll and printing of the address. In addition, sufficient printing pressure must be established by the force of the print roll against the stencil and the stencil against the workpiece. These forces must originate in a manually applied force at the operator handle 22, and the operating components of the machine must be arranged so that the required manual force is held to a minimum. The above described arrangement allows a relatively long length between the operator handle 22 and the cam rollers 43, while arms 52 provide a relatively short length between cam rollers 48 and pin 62. Thus, a given downward force upon handle 22 results in a considerable upward force upon the fulcrum bracket at pin 62. In addition, the above arrangement permits a long print lever assembly without the assembly extending beyond the overall length of the machine 10, thereby permitting a compact machine. The upward force upon pin 62 results in a generally downward force upon the pressure links 70, which force is transmitted to the print roll 66. As best seen in FIGURES and 6, the pressure links 70 are normally maintained at an angle to the track assembly 18 by virtue of the pressure springs 78 biasing the pressure links against stops 84, the angle being illustrated by the angle A lying between dashed line L, along which the downwardly directed force is transmitted, and dashed line N, the normal to the track assembly. The force along line L is therefore resolved into a first component directed downwardly along line N and a second component directed forward at a right angle to the first component. Thus, the first component becomes the clamping and printing force while the second component becomes the force which effects traverse of the print roll across the stencil. Since it is important to maintain the magnitude of the force upon operator handle 22 at a minimum, it will be evident that the magnitude of the force required along line L should be maintained at the minimum which can be resolved into the magnitude necessary for the two components set forth above. By carefully choosing the angle A, the relative magnitudes of the two components may be set so that neither component will become excessively large before the other component reaches the necessary minimum magnitude. Thus, at the proper angle A, the downward component has the magnitude necessary to clamp the workpiece and effect a proper printing pressure when the forward component reaches the magnitude necessary to efiect traverse of the print roll. Referring to FIGURES 5 through 7, since no resistance is offered to the downward movement of track assembly 18 in FIGURE 5, very little dowwnward force is required at operator handle 22 until the workpiece is being clamped between the track assembly and the platen 1 .6, as shown in FIGURE 6. At this point, the magnitude of the operating force must be increased to increase the magnitude of the force F along line L and thus increase the magnitude of the first and second components P and T, respectively. The biasing force provided by pressure springs 78 is such that force F must become great enough to establish the proper component force P when the magnitude of component force T becomes great enough to overcome the biasing force and effect the traverse of the print roll from the first position (FIG- URE 6) to the second position (FIGURE 7). If angle A were made larger, a greater force F would be necessary before the minimum force P could be attained and pressure springs 78 would be required to exert a greater biasing force to prevent traverse of the print roll before the essential force P could be established. If angle A were made smaller, the magnitude of component force P would become excessive before component force T became great enough to effect traverse and again force F would be greater. Hence, deviation from the optimum angle A will have the effect of increasing the magnitude of the operating force necessary at operator handle 22'while careful choice of angle A will minimize the operating force. In choosing angle A, it must be noted that the angle between lines L and N increases as the print roll traverse from rear to front of the frame 76 and it is necessary to assure that the magnitude of component force P does not drop below that which will provide the minimum required clamping and printing pressure even though the angle changes. This can be accomplished either by making angle A initially small enough to assure that component force P will not drop below the required minimum as long as component force T is great enough for traverse, or by increasing the biasing force provided by pressure springs 78. Either measure would, of course, necessitate an increase in the required operating force. The optimum angle A for machine ltl has been found to be in the order of magnitude of about 23. The angle is accurately determined by accurate positioning of the stops 84.

In View of the above described operation, it is evident that the machine It) will automatically compensate for workpieces of various thicknesses without requiring adjustment. The angle A remains very nearly constant regardless of the thickness of the workpiece at the printing station since the track assembly, the pressure links and the print roll are all coupled together for movement with the print lever assembly and fulcrum bracket. The required forces become established by the resistance to downward movement of the track assembly and this resistance can occur at various heights above the platen without adversely alfecting the operation of the printing mechanism.

It will be apparent that the illustrated construction of machine 10 allows ease in the fabrication of the operating component parts in that the parts are simple in configuration and can be made of relatively light weight with inexpensive manufacturing techniques. For example, the various lever and bracket assemblies are most advantageously stamped from sheet metal.

It is to be understood that the above detailed description of an embodiment of the invention is provided by way of example only and is not intended to limit the invention. Various details of design and construction may be modified without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a manually operated printing machine of the type in which a printing means is made to traverse a printforming element in order to transfer ink from the printing means through the element to a workpiece, the combination comprising:

a base including means for supporting the workpiece;

operator means mounted for movement relative to said base;

bracket means mounted upon the base for movement toward and away from the base in response to movement of the operator means;

link means pivotally mounted upon the bracket means for movement relative thereto between a first position and a second position in response to the movement of the bracket means;

printing means carried by the link means;

means for holding a print-forming element between the printing means and the workpiece supported on said base;

said printing means being cooperatively engaged with the link means such that the printing means may be urged by said link means against the workpiece and being movable across the print-forming element in response to movement of the link means from the first position to the second position; and

means biasing the link means toward the first position with a force precluding pivotal movement of the link means and traverse of the printing means across the print-forming element until the printing means is urged by said link means against the printforming element and the element pressed against the workpiece with a predetermined force;

the link means making an angle with the print-forming element when at the first position such that the force exerted by the bracket means upon the link means is transmitted by the link means to the printing means and resolved into a first component for urging the printing means against the print-forming element and pressing the print-forming element against the workpiece and a second component for effecting traverse'of the printing means across the print-forming element, the magnitude of the angle being such that the magnitude of the first component will reach the required predetermined force when the magnitude of the second component reaches the force necessary to overcome the biasing force and effect said traverse whereby the force exerted by the bracket means is maintained at a minimum.

2. In a manually operated printing machine as defined in claim l, the combination wherein said angle is in the order of 23 between the link and the normal to the printforming element.

3. In a manually operated stencil printing machine of the type in which a print roll is made to traverse a printforming stencil in order to transfer ink from the print roll through the stencil to a workpiece, the combination comprising:

a base including means for supporting the workpiece;

at least one operator lever mounted for movement relative to said base;

a track for carrying a stencil and mounted for movement toward and away from the base in response to the movement of the operator lever for positioning the stencil in cooperative relationship with the workpiece;

a bracket mounted upon the base for pivotal movement toward and away from the base in response to the movement of the operator lever;

at least one link mounted upon the bracket for pivotal movement relative thereto between a first position and a second position in response to pivotal movement of the bracket;

a print roll journaled upon the link and capable of being urged toward the stencil and the track to press the stencil against the workpiece and movable across the stencil in response to the movement of the link from the first position to the second position; and

means biasing the link toward the first position with a force precluding pivotal movement of the link and traverse of the print roll across the stencil until the track and the stencil therein are positioned upon the 8 workpiece and pressed thereagainst with a predetermined force;

the link making an angle with the track and the stencil therein when at the first position such that the force exerted by the bracket upon the link is transmitted by the link to the print roll and the track and resolved into a first component for urging the print roll against the stencil and pressing the stencil and the track against the workpiece and a second component for eltecting traverse of the print roll across the stencil, the magnitude of the angle being such that the magnitude of the first component will reach the required predetermined force when the magnitude of the second component reaches the force necessary to overcome the biasing force and effect said traverse whereby the force exerted by the bracket is maintained at a minimum.

4. In a manually operated stencil printing machine as defined in claim 3, the combination wherein the bracket is pivotally mounted to said base intermediate the ends of the bracket, the link is located adjacent one end of the bracket, and the operator lever is pivotally interconnected with the bracket at a point adjacent the other end thereof and includes an operator handle located a relatively long distance from said point and a fulcrum located a relatively short distance from said point whereby movement of the operator handle toward the base will move said point away from the base and said link toward the base to urge the print roll against the stencil and press the stencil and the track against the workpiece.

5. in a manually operated stencil printing machine as defined in claim 3, the combination including an inking means carried by said link in cooperative relationship with said print roll and means for actuating said inking means in response to return movement of said link from the second position to the first position to evenly distribute ink from said inking means upon the print roll during said return movement.

6. In a manually operated stencil printing machine as defined in claim 3, the combination wherein said angle is in the order of 23 between the link and the normal to the track and the stencil therein.

7. In a manually operated stencil printing machine of the type in which a print roll is made to traverse a printforming stencil in order to transfer ink from the print roll through the stencil to a workpiece, the combination comprising:

a base including a horizontally extending platen for supporting a work iece at a printing station in the machine;

a print lever assembly including a fulcrum cooperatively engaging the base and an operator handle located vertically above the base and a relatively long distance from the fulcrum for vertical movement toward and away from the base to pivot the assembly about the fulcrum;

a track assembly mounted on the base for pivotal movement above the base toward and away from the platen in response to actuation of the print lever assembly and including means for sequentially positioning each of a plurality of stencils at said printlng station;

a generally horizontally extending fulcrum bracket mounted intermediate the ends thereof to the base and operably interconnected adjacent one end thereof with the print lever assembly at a relatively short distance from the fulcrum of said print lever assembly for pivotal movement vertically in response to actuation of the print lever assembly;

at least one pressure link pivotally mounted adjacent the other end of the fulcrum bracket for movement relative thereto between a first position and a second position in response to movement of the fulcrum bracket;

a print roll journaled upon the pressure link above said printing station;

means maintaining the print roll in cooperative engagement with the track assembly such that the prnt roll will move generally horizontally across the track assembly and the stencil therein response to movement of the pressure link from the first position to the second position;

spring means biasing the pressure link toward the first position with a force sutficient to preclude pivotal movement of the pressure link and traverse of the print roll across the stencil until the track assembly is positioned upon the workpiece, the print roll is urged against the stencil and the stencil and track assembly are pressed against the workpiece with a predetermined force;

the pressure link making an angle with the generally horizontally oriented track assembly and the stencil therein when at the first position such that the force exerted by the fulcrum bracket upon the pressure link as a result of actuation of the print lever assembly is transmitted by the pressure link to the print roll and the track assembly and resolved into a vertical component for urging the print roll against the stencil and pressing the stencil and the track assembly against the workpiece and a horizontal component for effecting traverse of the print roll across the stencil, the magnitude of the angle being such that the magnitude of the vertical component will reach the required predetermined force when the magnitude of the horizontal component reaches the force necessary to overcome the biasing force and etfect said traverse whereby the force exerted by the fulcrum bracket and by the print lever assembly is maintained at a minimum.

8. In a manually operated stencil printing machine as defined in claim 7, the combination including an inking roll carried by said pressure link and journaled for rotation in cooperative relationship with the print roll and means for rotating the inking roll and the print roll in response to return movement of the pressure link from the second position to the first position to evenly distribute ink from the inking roll upon the print roll during said return movement.

9. In a manually operated stencil printing machine as defined in claim 7, the combination wherein said angle is in the order of 23 between the pressure link and the normal to the track assembly and the stencil therein.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,076,474 4/1937 Luckie 101--126 X 2,746,388 5/1956 Gruver et al 101269 X 2,907,271 10/1959 StielOW 101-123 2,909,998 10/1959 Maul 101-269 ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

F. A. WINANS, Assistant Examiner. 

